The invention relates to a battery retaining device for securing a vehicle battery to a vehicle body of a vehicle, in particular a traction battery in an electrically driven vehicle, such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.
Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have traction batteries, which store the necessary electric energy to drive the vehicle. Such traction batteries have a high storage capacity for ensuring a high cruising range for the vehicles, so that the mass of the traction batteries can comprise several hundred kilograms. Particularly in the case of a vehicle collision or an impact of the vehicle, a strong shear force on the vehicle body can result from the high mass of the traction batteries.
The type of mounting of the traction battery to the vehicle body therefore plays a decisive role in the stability behavior of the vehicle in the case of a collision. During a collision—or in general during an unusual deceleration process, such as, for example, an emergency braking—all objects of the vehicle with mass or respectively in the interior vehicle, such as passengers or luggage, are exposed to a pulsed acceleration, which requires an even greater acceleration force, the greater the mass of the decelerated object. The temporal profiles of the acceleration of the individual objects, the respective mass contribution thereof, the kinematics thereof and the energetic proportion of the total balance of the kinetic energy are therefore decisive for the temporal profile of the total system: vehicle.
In order to advantageously influence the temporal course of the acceleration of the total system in the case of a vehicle collision, connection systems between vehicle battery and vehicle body are known, which mechanically decouple the battery including the supporting structure thereof temporarily and in a controlled manner from the vehicle body. The decoupling has the effect that the battery mass passes through its own movement trajectory during the vehicle collision, and as a result the acceleration forces on the battery and the passengers of the vehicle can be more advantageously configured.
The European patent publication EP 0 559 176 A1 discloses a system with a battery carrier, which is displaced during a frontal collision in the vehicle longitudinal axis and simultaneously energy absorption means transfer kinetic energy of the battery to the vehicle body.
The German patent publication DE 197 38 620 C1 discloses a battery retaining system for vehicle batteries, in which lateral guide elements at least partially allow a movement of the vehicle battery when impact occurs.
The German patent publication DE 10 2004 023 754 A1 discloses a battery mounting system for the battery of a motor vehicle, comprising a battery carrier which is fastened to the floor within a cab of the motor vehicle, a movement converter for displacing the battery carrier as a reaction to an impact on the cab brought about by a collision and a subsequent axial deformation of the floor of the cab.
The German patent publication DE 10 2013 220 139 A1 discloses a device for securing a battery in an electric vehicle, said device comprising a battery frame respectively housing for accommodating a vehicle battery. In so doing, a recessed shell or respectively a recessed compartment can be provided which is designed to receive the battery housing that accommodates the vehicle battery.
The German patent publication DE 10 2008 059 680 A1 discloses a device for retaining a battery in a motor vehicle, said device comprising a receiving element for receiving a battery, a bracket element, which at least partially surrounds the receiving element and/or the battery to be retained, and a fixing element, which can be attached to the bracket element, wherein the battery is fixed by means of the fixing element within the receiving element.
The German patent publication DE 10 2012 012 060 A1 discloses, for example, a deformation element for absorbing the kinetic harming energy that occurs during a crash of two collision partners by deforming as a result of a force effect. The deformation element has a deformation resistance, which can be adapted to the intensity of the crash, and said deformation element is mechanically coupled to at least one actuator. A predeformation can be applied to the deformation element by activating the actuator.
The German patent publication DE 10 2012 204 856 A1 discloses a ground-coupling arrangement for a vehicle comprising a ground-receiving element for receiving a grounding object, a guide arrangement by means of which the ground-receiving element is mounted movably relative to the vehicle and comprising an actuator which is designed to adjust the degree of the coupling of the ground-receiving element to the vehicle and/or the temporal profile of said coupling.
The German patent publication DE 10 2011 016 081 A1 discloses a device for receiving at least one battery by means of a retaining device in or on a vehicle, said retaining device comprising a number of deformable fastening elements.
The German patent publication DE 25 22 844 A1 discloses a vehicle comprising a storage battery which is fastened to the vehicle floor via a retaining bracket. The retaining brackets have devices which upon impact of the vehicle cause a release of the storage battery from the vehicle floor when a certain impact strength has been exceeded.
The German patent publication DE 10 2010 012 109 A1 discloses a vehicle comprising an energy storage unit which is arranged on a body structure of the vehicle. In so doing, the body structure has receiving elements, on which the energy storage unit is arranged, wherein said energy storage unit can be pivoted and/or displaced if a collision of the vehicle occurs.
There is however a need for flexible solutions for securing a vehicle battery with respect to the vehicle body in the case of impact, wherein said solutions allow the temporal deceleration profile of the vehicle battery to be influenced during a vehicle collision.